Hurricane Erin intensifies quickly while it follows northeast of the Caribbean on Saturday, triggering an accidental surfing and sending rain and gusts on the islands south of its path.
Erin was a category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 MPH on Saturday morning, according to National Hurricane Center. Erin is located approximately 150 miles northeast of Anguilla, notes the National Hurricane Center.
The storm just passes north of the downwind islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend while making a progressive turn north. It is unlikely that this will put direct land on one of the northeast Caribbean islands, although tropical alerts are in place for some of these areas warning potential threats.
Erin should follow the north above the Western Atlantic next week, far from the United States and the Bermuda, but that could change if the storm becomes more or less strongly than expected. Even if the forecasts remain consistent, Erin could cause problems for both places in the form of raw surfing and dangerous rip currents.
Continuous strengthening is expected throughout the day on Saturday, powered by the warmest than the normal Atlantic. In fact, in the middle of next week, Erin should at least double or triple, which will lead to rugged ocean conditions on the Western Atlantic.
Rapid intensification occurs when the winds roar around the storm increases by at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less. Last year, nine storms quickly intensified in the Atlantic basin, including Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. This type of explosive strengthening occurs more frequently while the warm -up pollution of the planet makes the ladders towards warmer oceans which feed powerful storms.
In anticipation of the hurricane, the Captain of the American Coast Guard for the port of San Juan ordered that the ports of Saint-Thomas and St. John in the American Virgin Islands, and six sea ports in Puerto Rico are closed to all incoming ships unless you specifically authorize.
The rough seas and the rolling trees around the islands will continue at the beginning of next week. Wind and rain in mind – which could sometimes be heavy – also have an impact on the islands as Erin slips.
Some spots could record 2 to 4 inches of rain this weekend with localized quantities up to 6 possible inches in the heaviest showers. Intense rains could also cause sudden floods or mudslides.
There are a lot of fuel in the region so that Erin can draw because sea surface temperatures are much warmer than normal. They are not as hot as the record levels reached in 2023 and 2024, but are still much warmer than they would be in a world that did not warm up.
Erin is the first major Hurricane of the Atlantic of the season. Four other systems have traveled the Atlantic Basin before Erin – Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter – but none was stronger than a tropical storm.
The first hurricane of the season is generally formed around August 11, so Erin was slightly late, in particular compared to the first arrivals in recent seasons. There had already been three hurricanes – Beryl, Debby and Ernesto – by August 15 of last year.
There will be more chance that tropical systems are developing this month. The longer -term forecasts of the Climate Prediction Center highlight the same part of the Atlantic Erin developed as a place to monitor the new storms at least in early September.
August, it is when the tropics generally come to life: the busiest section of the season generally extends from mid-August to mid-October. The forecasters expect a tropical activity greater than the average this year.
